Gideon flake



(No Modem 7 I Sheets-Sheet 2.

' G. FLAKE.

7 GATE. Y I N 0. 40'Z, 578. Patented May 7,1889. M

N. PEY'ERS. PbolM-hlwmphor. Wnhlngmn. at:

t UNITED STATES" "PATENT QFFICE.

GIDEON FLAKE, CENTRE VAL LEY, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS I. RUSHTON, OF SAME PLACE.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 402,578, dated May '7, 1889.-

Application filed January 26, 1889. Serial No. 297,611. I (No model.)

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View showing the gate lowered or closed. Fig.2 is a front elevation showing it raised or open. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line or a: of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the catch.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A A designate two posts, which are set in the ground on opposite sides of the roadway, and are connected at their upper ends by the cross bars or beams B B, the said cross bars or beams having longitudinal slots 0, in which are mounted pulleys D, for a purposehereinafter set forth.

E E designate upwardly-converging standardsor supports, which are secured to the upper ends of the posts 'A A, and have their upper ends meeting and secured together at a point vertically over the center of the gate. A frame, F, is supported by the standards E, and conslsts of the vertical bars G, erected on the said standards, and the horizontal plate or bar H, secured to the said standards and the vertical bars G.

I designates the gate, which is composed of the usual rails, J, and the vertical bars or braces K, connectingthesame. The central vertical bar, K, of the gate-is extended up- Ward above the upper rail of the gate, and a T-casting, L, is secured to the upper end of said vertical bar. From the center of this T- casting a cable, M, extends upward to and over a pulley, N, journaled in and between the upper ends of the standards E E, and thence outward and over a pulley, 0,.journaled in the outer end of the horizontal bar or plate H, and thence downward, its free end being provided with a weight, P, which is heavier than the gate, so as to overbalance the same, and thereby raise the gate when the latch is released, as will be presently more fully described.

The T-casting can be dispensed with by securin g the ends of all the cables directly to the gate, as will be readily understood; or the'pulleys N 0 may be provided with grooved peripheries and the operating-tables extended over said pulleys and secured to the weight. These changes are so obvious as to require no illustration, and will readily suggest themselves to the skilled artisan.

To the upper end of the post A, and on that side of the roadway opposite the side at which the weight P is arranged, I secure the longitudinal beam Q, at the ends of which I secure the vertically-arranged pulleys R, as shown.

At the upper ends of the post A, adjacent to the bar Q, I arrange the horizontal pulleys S, and cables T, having weighted handles U, pass over these pulleys R and S, and thence under and around the pulleys D, and are secured to the ends of the T-casting L.

The vertical end bars of the gate move in vertical grooves V in the inner opposing faces of theposts A, and the latch or locking device is arranged within the groove in the post at that side of the roadway on which the operating cords or cables .1 are arranged. In the side walls of the groove in the said post I form the recesses W, in which I pivotally secure the gravity latches or detents Y, each consistin g of a shank, Z, pivoted within the post, and a transverse head or locking-pin, a, at the upper end of the shank, which is adapted, when not arranged to lockthe gate, to lie within the recess W, but tends to fall away from the said recess by reason of its own gravity. The detents are forced into the said recesses by a vertically-sliding plate, 6, which is arranged in the groove V of the post, and is provided in its side edges with the upwardly and inwardly inclined surfaces 0, which bear against the locking-pins, so that when the said plate is drawn upward it acts as a wedge on the said pins, so as to force them into the recesses W, and thereby disengage them from the gate. The said plate I) is further provided in its edges with the shoulders d, which are adapted to come in contact with the pins,

and thereby limit the descent of the said plate, so as to prevent its falling so far as to pass its operative position. The said plate is raised by means of the operating cords or cables 6, which are secured to the upper end of the said plate and pass upward therefrom over pulleys f, secured within the posts, and thence outward to a point near the free ends of the cables T.

The end bar of the gate is provided in its opposite edges with the notches g, the lower ends of which present the abrupt horizontal shoulders 71, which are engaged by the locking-pins when the gate is lowered, and the lower end of the said end bar is.tapered, as shown at i, so that as the gate is lowered the Said end bar can enter between the lockingpins and force them apart.

In operation, when it is desired to open the gate, it is only necessary to disengage the locking-pins from the notches,when the weight P, being heavy enough to overbalance the gate, will at once draw the same upward, as will be readily understood, and as shown in Fig. 2. When it is desired to close the gate, the cables '1 are drawn upon, so as to pull the gate downward, when the end bar of the gate will pass between the locking-pins, and the said pins will automatically engage the;

notches g. from the gate by raising the disengagingplate 1), so that the inclined or wedge surfaces of the same will ride against the said pins and force them into the recesses V out of engagement with the notches g, so that the gate will be free to be acted upon by the lifting-weight P.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that I have provided a very simple and easily-operated gate, which is not liable to get out of order or be otherwise injured.

The locking devicesare all inclosed so as to be protected from injury.

The locking-pins are disengaged 1 My device is designed more especially for i use as a farm-gate; but it is equally well adapted for use as a water-gate, and can be used to advantage as a barn-door. The de- \Vhen the gate is locked, it cannot be raised by stock prying under it, but only be raised by releasing the detents. This locking mechanism I regard as the main feature of my invention, and it can be applied to windows without involving any departure therefrom.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination, with the gate-post and the gate having notches in the opposite sides of its end bar, of the inwardly-swinging detents pivoted within the posts and having locking-pins at their upper endsengaging the notches in the end bar of the gate, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the gate-post, of the detents pivoted therein and having lockin g-pins at their inner ends, and the gate having the lower end of its end bar tapered, and having notches in the opposite sides of the end bar, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the post and the gate, of the detent pivoted in the post and adapted to engage the gate, the disengagingplate having inclined surfaces bearing against the detent, and mechanism for raising said disengaging-plate, as set forth.

4. The combination, with the post, of the gate moving vertically between the posts and having notches in the opposite sides of its end bar, a lifting-weight connected to the gate to raise the same, mechanism for lowering the gate, and the latches arranged within the posts and engaging the notches in the end bar of the gate to hold it lowered, as set forth.

5. The combination, with the gate-post; the latch arranged within one of the posts and adapted to hold the gate lowered, the converging standards E, secured thereon, the frame F, erected on said standards, the pulleys in said frame, the gate movingbetween the posts, the T-cast-ing at the upper end of the gate, the cable secured to said casting and extending over the pulleys in the frame F, and provided with a weight, the bar Q, the pulleysR at the ends of the same, the pulleys S at the upper ends of the gate-posts, and the cable passing over said pulleys and secured to the ends of the T-casting, as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GIDEON FLAKE.

\Vitnesses:

THoMAs R. HAWKINS, AMos MARKER. 

